Recommendations on how best to use the Medical Transcription Practice Tapes or CD-ROMs

1.) Transcribe the tapes twice. Why? The first time through a tape you are likely to make many stops to use your medical dictionary and drug reference book. Once you find the word you are looking for always read the definitions of terms, and do your best to learn the indications of drugs. More likely than not the second time through the tape you will not have to stop to look for the same terms.
Here is an example of why it is helpful to know the indications of drugs:

Urised versus Urocit. They sound almost identical when dictated quickly. However, Urised is an anti-infective and Urocit is a urinary alkalinizer. Both are used frequently in urology. The remainder of the dictation should give a clear indication of which drug the physician is referring to.

2.) To maximize your learning potential the booklet of Basic Transcripts should not be used as a reference while you are transcribing. Although the booklet contains a full transcript of each tape it should be used when your other forms of reference have been exhausted. If you ultimately use the transcript booklet, again, be sure to learn about the term from another source of reference.

3.) Create an alphabetized Quick Reference List of terms for each medical specialty as you transcribe. This will benefit you greatly once you have a client in that specialty.

After many years of being a medical transcriptionist I still have a few words that I have to look for on my Quick Reference List every time I type them. There are, however, simple ways to quickly decipher between words that sound the same or similar.

Example: ileum vs. ilium. Ileum refers to a portion of the small intestine. Ilium refers to a bone in the pelvis. I remember the difference like this: The "e" in ileum resembles the curves in the intestinal tract. The "i" in ilium resembles a long bone. Although the ilium is not a long bone, the point is to make an association.

4.) Occasionally a physician will give you the spelling of a term or drug. If you already know the spelling you might be offended that he or she assumed you didn't know it. On the other hand, it can at times prevent you from having a hair-raising experience. If the latter holds true be sure to look up the term as they too make mistakes.

5.) It's amazing how quickly the time can go by when you're transcribing. Take a break every 45 minutes or so, at least for a few minutes.

6.) When transcribing on a regular basis it is very important to have a quality office chair. Also, be sure to use a wrist rest with your keyboard.